No to this high fashion: Pot-leaf clothes pulled from Tilly's shelves

March 13, 2014

Updated March 14, 2014 8:27 a.m.

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This marijuana-leaf bodysuit made by Los Angeles-based clothing line See You Monday was sold at Tilly's until parents successfully campaigned the Irvine-based retailer to have the item pulled from its shelves in the Huntington Beach store. TILLYS.COM

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Clothing featuring images of marijuana leaves has been pulled from the shelves at the Huntington Beach Tilly's after parents successfully campaigned to discourage the leggings, belts, swimsuits and other garb from getting in the hands of teens. TILLYS.COM

Clothing featuring images of marijuana leaves has been pulled from the shelves at Tilly's in Huntington Beach after parents successfully campaigned to discourage the leggings, belts, swimsuits and other garb from getting in the hands of teens. TILLYS.COM

This marijuana-leaf bodysuit made by Los Angeles-based clothing line See You Monday was sold at Tilly's until parents successfully campaigned the Irvine-based retailer to have the item pulled from its shelves in the Huntington Beach store.TILLYS.COM

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Clothing featuring images of marijuana leaves has been pulled from the shelves at Irvine-based retailer Tilly’s after parents campaigned to keep the leggings, belts, swimsuits and other garb from getting in the hands of teens, according to the parents.

The parent group Youth Matters, a subcommittee of Edison High School’s Parent Teacher and Student Association, became aware of the images in February at the Huntington Beach Tilly’s. Youth Matters organizes education and outreach for Huntington Beach to prevent drug and alcohol use among teenagers.

A PTSA parent was shopping for her child and noticed some of the items from the clothing line See You Monday, which prominently featured colorful marijuana leaves, sometimes against a backdrop of psychedelic splotches. The parent who spotted the clothing notified other members of Youth Matters, and the group launched a letter-writing campaign.

“It’s really a desensitization thing, as clichéd as that sounds,” said Youth Matters Chair Kim Green. “Our average age of youth starting drugs or alcohol is 12 years old.”

The letters emphasized marijuana’s role as a gateway drug for teens, often leading to heavier drug use such as prescription medications and heroin, said Shelley Skaggs, a member of Youth Matters who also directs outreach and admissions at the transitional living home Benchmark Transition.

“Teens usually smoke marijuana for two reasons: to fit in socially or as a way of self-medicating,” Skaggs explained, adding that making marijuana fashionable will give young students the impression that they can fit in socially by participating in that culture.

About a dozen parents in Youth Matters wrote to the company, asking it to remove the images of pot from its Huntington Beach location. To the parents’ surprise, the response from Tilly’s was positive and almost immediate, Green said. She received letters from Tilly’s saying it agreed with the cause she and the other parents were fighting for and would not sell the clothing at the Huntington Beach Tilly’s. The company also suggested that its foundation, Tilly’s Life Center, could perhaps sponsor Youth Matters events.

“Tilly’s Life Center is the opposite of what the stores were selling, but totally in line with what the PTSA does, which is advocate for children,” Green said. “So we thought that was great.”

Los Angeles-based clothing line See You Monday is sold at retail clothing stores popular among teens such as Tilly’s and Zumiez. Skaggs said she’s also seen clothing with marijuana images at the clothing store Active Rider Shop. Green is reaching out to the company to remove the controversial clothes from those stores as well.

But Green said the issue stretches further than a clothing retailer.

“It’s not just Tilly’s,” she said. “It’s a pervasive drug culture. So we just keep writing letters and educating the community.”

A representative from Tilly’s Irvine headquarters declined to comment on the clothing or whether it had been taken from the shelves of other retailers around the country.

As of Thursday, the items with marijuana leaves could no longer be found on the clothing company’s website.

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